The Drifter
by KrystalizedKiss
Summary: She's a princess. And he's a Samurai. How will they ever be together? Amuto. R&R. Ch 3 updated.
1. Scruffy Savior

The Drifter

**Summary:**  
I'm a princess. And he's a Samurai. How will we ever be together? Amuto. R&R.

**Author's Note:**  
This was bugging the crap out of me. Literally. Aside from the awesome music that made Artistically Sensual, this one came from the inspiration of… well, kimonos and well… sword fighting and well pretty much everything else that I love about this period. This story takes place roughly in the Feudal era of Japan. I guess the best reference is almost that of the mangas that have princesses and priests and emperors and the like. Give or take a few series… I'm not sure. But anyway, this is not going to get really political unless I'm absolutely positive on the hierarchy of Japan's Imperial Court. If you guys have any information regarding it, please do tell me or send me a PM with the links.

Again, I am testing the waters, but I think everyone will love the idea of Ikuto being the Samurai, if you didn't already figure it out. Hehe. What could be sexier than that? I really just LOVE the idea of toying around with Amu and Ikuto in different settings, and this is another one of them. I've been planning and working out who should be what so… some of the characters might take some time to show up, but in the first chapter, I believe you will be ecstatic to find your faves. ;)

Again, I had no one beta read this for me. And again, **PLEASE REVIEW IF YOU WANT ME TO CONTINUE! **:3 And this is a sort of treat for you all, since this story is like… literally rough but I already have this sure thing plot going through my head, just like I do with Artistically Sensual and Together We Unite. Oh my. I'm going to have a handful. ); This is my sort-of-early Valentine's gift for you all. I'll write a regular, actual Valentine Oneshot soon. So look forward to it. :)

Total Word of Chapter Count: 4697  
Misc. crap extras: 565

**Disclaimer:**  
Shugo Chara and all related characters and elements are the property, copyright and trademark of Peach Pit and no ownership or claim on said property, copyright or trademark is made or implied by their use in the work(s) of fan fiction presented here. This fan fiction constitutes a personal comment on the aforesaid properties pursuant to doctrines of fair use and fair comment. This fan fiction is non-commercial, not for sale or profit, and may not be sold or reproduced for commercial purposes.

* * *

Chapter 1: Scruffy Savior

"Where is hime-sama?" one of the servants asked the caretaker of Amu.

"Amu-hime seemed to have ventured off to the garden," the caretaker sighed, a tad annoyed.

"Dia, she's always like this, isn't she?" the servant nodded in agreement.

"You're right about that, Ran; after all, we've known her for as long as we can remember, right?" Dia smiled weakly at her sister, patting her head. "It just happened that Amu-hime isn't exactly the most… sheltered girl here, it's more Ami-hime that's sheltered than Amu-hime."

"I agree." Ran looked toward their large garden, the cherry blossoms coming into full bloom. A gentle breeze blew by, causing the flower petals to float down to the lush green grass. "But… isn't Tadase-sama coming today?"

Dia nodded. "Well, he insisted that Amu-hime come to his home so that he can show her a demonstration of a dance by a famous dancer as a gift. I wouldn't be surprised; after all, Tadase-sama is the Ouji of the Hotori Clan. There are even some rumors that their father, who is also a fellow daimyo, might take over for-"

"Ah, there's Amu-hime!" Ran pointed. Behind the branch of flowers stood a girl blended into the surroundings of pink with her own pale strawberry-colored hair. "Hime-sama! We've got to get you ready for the trip to Tadase-sama's!"

Amu looked up from where she sat, her kimono placed delicately around her as she sat under the sakura tree with her book. She took a flower petal and stuck it into her book as a bookmark before getting up to wave over at Ran to reply.

"All right, give me a minute!"

She was excited, but she had been so absorbed into her book that she didn't realize that it was time to go. Where did all the time disappear to? But she was excited to see her Tadase, who has been showing signs that he wanted her hand in marriage for quite some time now. She had always admired Tadase from afar, and when they finally met one day at an extravagant party at one of the region's shoguns, she met him accidentally there. Since then, they hit it off and began to make so many plans to meet up with each other more and more. It was mainly Tadase that came over, seeing as he is a man and not a woman, where women were looked down upon to go wandering the streets, especially those of her status without a carriage.

She hurried over and sat down before the mirror. Ran began to brush her long hair and changed her out of her plainer kimono and into her more elegant one.

"Hime-sama, when do you think Tadase-sama is going to ask for your hand?" Ran giggled.

Amu blushed. "I-I don't know… whenever he feels is right." Really, Amu really hoped that it would be today, but something about the dream last night told her otherwise. Something about today told her that something important was going to happen today. She noticed the change in title. "Ran, since when have you used 'Hime-sama' rather than my name?"

"Amu-hime, it's not right for this personality of yours to come out now," Dia sighed as she pulled out the elegant kimono and began to help her dress.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Amu huffed, wearing her favorite "X" shaped hair ties at the end of her braids. She seemed to have forgotten the little issue with her name…

"You're at the age nowadays that you should be getting married," Dia said as she fixed the kimono. "You are sixteen after all."

"Yeah, you're at the lovely age where many men will come asking for your hand in marriage," Ran said as she cleaned up the room before getting ready to help Dia, should she need any.

Amu frowned slightly. Mildly, she recounted the number of offers that she had received.

None.

"I hadn't received any, what on earth are you talking about?" Amu conflicted. "I may be of age to marry, but no one has really asked for my hand in marriage formally."

"Well, then the time for it is probably very soon, your suitors just haven't found the right opportunity to propose," Dia commented as she finished, standing up again to admire her work. "I'll be right back a moment, Hime-sama." Dia left.

_Probably to change_, Amu thought. _One who is the caretaker of a hime must dress appropriately, especially when going to the presence of an Ouji…_

Dia quickly came back, and excused Ran to prepare the rest of the carriage.

"Are you ready, Hime-sama?" Dia asked. Amu wondered when they decided that they ought to change how they called her, but decided against asking again.

* * *

Sitting inside the carriage has always been one of Amu's favorite times. It was the only time that she was able to leave her home and go to the outside. Of course, she had already often enough snuck out of her home to see the world outside, her curious mind and eyes already saw half of the town… the other half when she snuck out with Ran.

But where they were going, was a region she hadn't gone to. Her father was the daimyo of her region, which gave her the title of being called a princess. She was of high class, rarely going out to see the peasants, the farmers, and the merchants. She loved looking through the trinkets that she often saw as well as the stores she sees with many books inside. Her warm honey hues looked over the townsfolk, seeing how well that her father ruled this region. As long as she was anywhere in this region, she was safe.

About half an hour passed before they finally came to a stop. Dia appeared worried.

"Strange… we weren't supposed to stop so soon," she muttered, peeking out of the sheets that covered the carriage.

"What's going on?" Amu asked softly.

Before Dia could answer, she roughly closed the blinds, pulling Amu close to her chest. Suddenly, she heard a loud grunt and then a shout.

"Give us your treasures and the hime, and no one will get hurt!" the gruff male voice said.

"Never!" shouted back one of the guards.

Amu had never felt so scared before. What was going to happen?

"Final warning, hand over the darling girl and the loot, or we'll force you to give it to us!" Another voice shouted. His voice was no better than the male before him that spoke.

"What's going to happen to us…?" Amu whispered. She clung to Dia, scared stiff that she might be taken away.

"Shh… and I don't know…" Dia replied, but she held a tighter grip on her Master.

They continued to listen to the exchange.

"No, we will not," the other guard said firmly. Suddenly, the carriage was knocked over due to the sudden thrust forward by the horses as they neighed in surprise. Amu screamed as they fell to the side, Dia shielding her from any harm, but still keeping her well-hidden should the men come forward and unveil the blinds.

Amu could hear several men laughing at their coming demise.

"We'll protect Hime-sama and Dia-san, no matter what!" the guards shouted together. She could hear their feet running toward where they had fallen.

She heard several shouts as men charged. She heard slashes and the sounds of bodies hitting the ground. Abruptly, the blinds were ripped off and rough hands came in and pulled them out. Amu screamed and Dia shouted, "Let her go!"

"Hahaha! Look at what a mighty catch we managed to capture!" one of the men sneered. He laughed and Amu smelled the rotten breathe that came from him. Instantly, her fear from earlier evaporated and she glared at the man holding her wrist. "Oh? The little hime has some spunk! And look men, if it isn't the Amu-hime of the Hinamori Daimyo. How much do you think they'll be willing to pay for her?"

"LET HER GO!" Dia shouted again, but cried out in pain as a blade was pressed to her back, silencing her.

"DIA!" Amu exclaimed. At the surprise from Dia's shout, Amu kicked the man that held her prisoner in the shin, causing him to shout out in pain and releasing his hold on her. Rapidly, she gathered up the hem of her kimono and began to run. She had never felt so glad for all that running around her father's estate, that exercise came in handy. She could hear shouts behind her and she ran harder.

_I'll come back for you, Dia, I promise I will!_ She thought as she continued to run, the heaviness of her kimono beginning to weigh her down.

She had to find somewhere… anywhere, ANYONE that was willing to help. She wasn't going to be able to keep running and she could hear the men behind her catching up to her.

When she turned the corner, she bumped into a strong chest, and just as she fell began to fall backward, a strong arm wrapped itself around her waist and held her close.

She flushed instantly. "S-Sorry about that… but could… could you let go of me?" She tried pushing at his chest, not bothering to look up.

Before the stranger could answer, the bandits caught up, breathing heavily as they surrounded the pair of them.

"Oh, I had been hoping not to cause you trouble…" she murmured. She looked up and found herself staring at a young man with a scruffy beard around his face. He had long hair that was in dire need of a haircut, and a large hat that covered the rest of his head. The only thing that she realized that was really seeable was his flashing, deep sapphire eyes that sent strange shivers up her spine. Suddenly, she felt safe.

"Kind sir, I would like that you return what is rightfully ours," one bandit said. It seemed like this man was the leader.

The stranger looked around him, as if counting how many men surrounded him before he spoke. She was surprised that from this scruffy looking man came a voice that was as rich and as deep and soothing as the sound of the best instrument in the land. Even his low voice sent another shiver up her spine.

"But she's much too pretty to be with the likes of you," he said. She heard something sharp being flicked and her eyes shot down to his side. And on his hip rested a sword that she knew wasn't one used for farming… it was a _samurai_ blade. She flushed as his compliment, but she realized that it infuriated the men around them, and she squeezed his shirt.

"W-What did you just say? She's our property!"

She could have sworn that she saw him smirk.

"I think not." At that instant, the men lunged forward, releasing their swords from their sheaths and she heard him only saying one word… well, more like one sound.

"Tch." His eyes shot to her and in that moment, she seemed to understand what his eyes conveyed. Squeezing her eyes shut and grabbing hold of him tightly, she felt herself being protected as the sound of the sword was released from his own sheath along with many dozens of _clangs_ that the sword came in contact with.

He picked her up as if she weighed nothing at all, and in mere moments, the fight ended and she felt her feet being set on the ground.

"You can open your eyes now," he murmured in her ear. She opened her eyes slowly and came in contact with his sapphire ones and instantly flushed again. But before he could say anything, she looked at the damage that this swordsman had just did. Surprised, she pulled away from the safety of the stranger's embrace and examined her attackers. They were all only knocked unconscious.

"How'd you do that?" she asked in awe.

He chuckled, "That was only a party trick." There was a short pause before he picked her up again, causing her to squeal in surprise. "Cute," was all he said before he took off in the direction she had run from. Suddenly, she remembered Dia!

When they came in sight of the knocked over carriage, he set her back down and watched as Amu ran over toward Dia.

"Dia, Dia? Are you all right?" she called, gently shaking her caretaker. Luckily, the kimono was thick enough that it left a very thin and light scratch against her back. Dia looked up at Amu and smiled.

"Ah, I'm fine, surprisingly," she said softly as she sat up before standing up and beginning to dust herself off. She glanced at the dead guards and sighed. "We'll have to rent out another carriage to get home… our destination…" She stopped talking when she noticed the samurai standing nearby, looking around for any more bandits. "Are you the one who saved her?"

He stopped looking around and faced her. "Yes, I am."

"We'll reward you when we get back home, and you are hired to be our guard during our travels." Amu looked shocked and paled. Why so suddenly…?!

"But first, we must know your name…?"

Amu saw his chin move and instantly knew that he was smirking, his eyes glinting with mischief that she knew that was not there before. "I'd like to get cleaned up first before I accept any sort of jobs that requires me to guard hime_-sama_ over there." Amu felt like he had just picked on her right then and felt angry enough that she wanted to whack him.

"All right, but first, you'll have to help us back to our home," Dia said with a sigh. She watched with surprise as the man walked over to the horses and petted them to calm down. He lifted up the carriage with ease into its rightful position and bowed in a mocking manner that Amu felt angrier. Before she could retort anything, Dia grabbed Amu's hand and pulled her onto the carriage as the temporary blinds covered the carriage. Then she heard the horses being manipulated so that they turned around and began heading home. Before doing so, she heard someone coming up to the carriage and talking to the man guiding the horses… after a few minutes of an exchange, the horses were then knocked into a fast gallop.

"We're going to have to pick up the pace… this route is filled with bandits," the man said through the wall of the carriage.

When it fell silent, Amu whisper-shouted, "Why'd you stop me from yelling at him for being so disrespectful?"

"Because he saved our lives," Dia stated simply.

At that, Amu fell silent. She couldn't deny that he had saved her life, but she just didn't like how rude he was towards her. She really wanted to smack him, at least, for his… his… irritating personality. But while the ride was indeed long, this gave Amu time to think about the man a bit more thoroughly.

He was a traveling _ronin_… he should be under his own daimyo, but he was not, so he's a wanderer. And from the looks of it, it looked like he's been traveling for quite some time, by the look of the beard and his hair that desperately needs to be cut off or something… she wasn't sure how old he was, given that the beard made him appear much more older than what he probably was. She was a little afraid that the man might be… be… _handsome._ She didn't want to admit it nor did she want to see it… but she was itching with curiosity to see what he looks like after he cleans himself up a bit…

Before she knew it, they had arrived at their destination, and Amu found herself surprised when the stranger pulled aside the blinds, and helped them down from the carriage.

"Amu-nee-sama!" her little sister exclaimed as soon as Amu entered the threshold.

She was caught off guard by the surprise attack by her sibling, catching her in the mass of a kimono that she wore, surprisingly.

Amu laughed and held her sister tightly, squeezing her as soon as she realized that she was suddenly now safe, and she haven't felt this relieved in long time.

"Amu-nee…?" Ami asked softly, her young girlish voice quiet and concerned.

Moments later, Amu's parents came out.

"Ousama, Joousama!" Dia exclaimed, bowing instantly at their appearance.

Tsumugu and Midori were dressed in elegant robes of silk, in many layers that fit their title. Tsumugu was dressed more casual than he would usually, seeing as he is at home and he had no plans for the day to go out anywhere except spend his time today sitting on the balcony to paint.

Midori took a glance at Dia and paled. "Dia-san, please go get changed and have Ran take a look at your injury… it may be small, but it's better to have it treated than to let you get sick. A doctor is has already been sent for."

Dia nodded and left their presence as the doors of their home was shut. Tsumugu looked up from worrying about his daughter for a moment and said sternly, "Had I known that the route you had taken to the Ouji's home was full of bandits, I would have not let you go…" He looked up and found himself face to face to the ronin that had saved Amu's and Dia's life.

"I must thank you, Ronin-san," Tsumugu bowed.

"I was only doing my job," he replied smoothly.

"As your reward, you are to board here for as long as you like… Ah?" He paused when Midori whispered something in his ear after she had come back from seeing to Dia's condition. "And we will pay you for your services as you serve under us as a personal bodyguard."

The stranger smiled. "Thank you, Tsumugu-sama, it's a pleasure to be serving the Hinamori Daimyo."

"Now, is there anything we can help you with…?"

Ran came running out just as he was about to make a request, "I would like to get cleaned up before I formally accept the employment… and perhaps some food while we converse."

"Certainly, certainly! Ran, go and tell the cook to prepare a quick meal and fetch a blade and sissors." Heartily, he took the stranger away from the front yard with Ran dashing off first, leaving Amu still hugging Ami.

"Amu-nee-chan, let me go please," Ami whispered. She was afraid that if she let go, her sister might do something drastic.

"Ah, sorry," Amu said, putting her sister down before taking her hand and walking toward where her father had most likely taken the stranger.

A few minutes later, Ran ran toward her and said softly, "Hurry, we must get you cleaned before the meal… especially after that horrible incident."

Amu only nodded mutely, unsure as to what to do. She was about to let go of Ami's hand, but she held on firmly. "Ami-sama, let go of your sister's hand," Ran said gently.

"No!" Ami sensed that something was wrong with her elder sister, who was always usually with this attitude that made her admire her elder sister and now, she felt that her sister needed her more than ever.

Ran sighed. "I guess I have no choice, you'll both have to take a bath. Come along." She guided the pair into the bath and for a half hour, Amu relaxed her tense muscles, finally easing out of the sense of frigid fear when she had seen the bandit hold the knife up to Dia's back, a moment before at her neck. She looked at her wrist and flinched when she discovered that there was a bruise of the man's hand imprinted on it. She drowned it under water, hoping to soothe the pain and she watched with a smile as Ami played with the bubbles that were formed thanks to their bath. Her father had somehow managed to find a merchant that made such things as these "bubbles" and it served often to amuse both her and her sister when they bathed. Joining in her sister of playing with bubbles, she relaxed further still until Ran called that it was time to get out.

* * *

The stranger found the land rather immense and calming. It was very well cared for and even the servants were smiling and humming as they walked by. He realized that they really liked their masters and had no complaints whatsoever about them, despite them cleaning the immensely large home.

The servant girl with red hair and pink eyes (unnatural, but then again, he had seen his fair share of strange colors) was called Ran and had given him a small blade to shave and a pair of scissors to cut his hair. Ran said that there were two baths; one of the men of the household and one for the girls of the household. There were an equal number of males and females in the place, and found that he wasn't that surprised. He heard that the servant quarters were in the back of the building, behind a large hedge that everyone seemed to call it the rose hedge.

After his bath and he had thoroughly washed himself clean, he sat before the mirror and chuckled in spite of himself. He was hairier than he had expected after an entire year of traveling… or more, he wasn't sure; he had lost count a long time ago.

_Should I shave first or cut my hair first?_ He thought, taking a good look of himself. With the towel wrapped around his waist, his chest exposed well-toned muscles that were fit for a swordsman of this day and age. Mildly, he remembered the scars that were along his back… and some along the front of his chest as he looked in the mirror. He touched it, tracing it as he sighed. He decided to shave first, so that cutting his hair would be easier. After finished shaving, he touched the smooth skin and smirked characteristically.

He took the scissors then and began cutting his hair in the style that had fit him before he had gone traveling for as long as he did. When he finished, his midnight blue hair shimmered as the sun hit his hair and he got out of the bathroom, donning on the robe that would be his replacement until he could wear the kimono that was made in the fashion of the Hinamori Clan. Until then, this kimono would fit him just fine, black with a faded pattern in the fabric with a white robe underneath.

He picked up his swords and placed them at his hip and stepped out and headed in the direction of the room that Tsumugu had told him to go when he finished cleaning up.

* * *

When Amu finished her bath with Ami, she was refreshed and feeling much better than she had before… as if all of her stress had gone away with the bath. Ami went off with Ran to check on Dia and Amu headed off into the room that Ran told her that she ought to go to. Before she did, however, she stopped by the kitchen.

"Suu, what are you cooking?" Amu asked, peeking into the kitchen. She smelled delicious food being made, almost ready to be served.

The blonde jumped in surprise and her emerald green eyes turned toward Amu's way and she smiled warmly. "Amu-sama, you mustn't do that while I'm cooking!" she exclaimed in her warm, gentle voice. It was hard for her voice to ever sound like it was angry or anything else than cheerful and very welcoming.

"Sorry," Amu looked apologetic. She smiled weakly before smiling fully and bouncing back into the kitchen to sit at the stool that was before a bar and Suu pulled out some snacks and placed it before her.

"You mustn't spoil your appetite so soon before dinner, so have a taste of what's to come for your meal," Suu said as she picked out a piece of chicken and gave it to Amu before scooping the plate away.

As Amu squealed in delight at the deliciously cooked poultry, Suu said, "You must be off now, Ousama is expecting you."

Amu sighed as she confessed with a whisper, "Actually, I'm kind of scared to go there…"

Suu looked over at her master, surprised. "Oh? And why is that?"

"Because a man had saved me from a group of bandits which started a series of events that led him to start working for us, but he said that he wouldn't accept it until he's cleaned up to formally accept it."

Suu seemed thoughtful as she continued to cook, but spoke up after a short pause, "It's best for you to go, Amu-chan, otherwise, your father might become very angry with you for keeping him and his guest waiting."

Amu nodded reluctantly and walked toward the room. She slide the door open and for a moment, thought she was in the wrong room before she realized that he was wearing the same sheathed swords as the ronin from earlier.

"Amu, come sit over here," her father patted a sitting pillow next to him, and in front of him was a gorgeous dark wood-colored table that was high enough to eat on, play games, and even have their meal on should they choose to.

Amu obeyed and sat down, finally taking a good look at the stranger.

If she wasn't next to her father, she would have dropped her mouth open in shock and surprise from how _good_-looking he was. He had such nicely trimmed hair that seemed to have shaped into feline's ears on the sides with his bangs covering some of his sapphire eyes. His beard was gone, revealing a nice clean shaven man that made him appear many years younger than what he had been originally. She could finally see the smirk that she had seen several times underneath the beard when they were faced against the group of bandits. Without his hat, cloak, and worn-out kimono, he seemed sophisticated, rough yet graceful, sharp yet dull… it was as if he was all of those things, but was not. She could even smell something… _different_ about him in ways that she can't exactly describe.

"It's good to know that you can clean up rather well," her father said, grinning.

The male in front of her smirked. "Of course, otherwise how do we gentlemen get the ladies?" Amu felt offended, but something felt off about his statement. He was aloof, stoic, and joking most of the time. The only time she saw him become serious was when he was defending her… and that was with her eyes closed so she didn't really see him… "serious".

Her father laughed and said, "How rude of us, you know our names, but we do not know yours. What is your name, may I ask of you?"

A flicker of something akin to conflict flickered across his face and Amu wondered about it. In that brief moment, what was he thinking about to show such an expression?

But the conflicted expression faded and came into its place was only a smirk, "Just call me Ikuto."

"No surname?"

He shook his head. "My surname is indeed important… but you only need to know my name for now."

Her father agreed with a nod and seemed thoughtful before he spoke up again, "I have a favor to ask of you, instead of the job offered earlier by my daughter's caretaker. It is indeed a job, but of a different level."

"Oh?" Ikuto raised an eye-brow, curious. His smirk still remained on his face. Amu felt that it must be so characteristically part of him, that she could no longer try to imagine what he would look like with a genuine smile.

"I would like you to become my daughter's bodyguard instead."

* * *

**Author's Note Part 2:**  
Okay… Uh… I felt that it was appropriate in this story that we would use honorifics and a bit of Japanese phrases here and there. Not actual ones, but of people things. I'll try to use their "titles" as much as possible, to give a sort of feel of Feudal Japan. Here, in the endings of each chapter, I'll list the ones I've used in the chapter so that you can understand. If you already do, then you can skip this part. Haha.

_(it may or may not be entirely accurate, so do not think that these are the actual translations.)_

Hime – Princess  
Sama – Highly respected honorific (sort of like master or someone whom you worship/admire)  
Daimyo – a sort of Shogun/Great powerful, territorial lords (From Wikipedia)  
Ouji – Prince  
Ronin – Samurai  
Ousama – King/Emperor (in this case, I wanted to emphasize that Amu's dad is the "king" of their land property)  
Joousama – Queen  
Nee-sama – Respected Elder sister  
Nee-chan – dear sister/precious sister  
-chan – a sense of endearment


	2. Ouji's Visit

**Summary:**  
Amu spends the next month spending time with Ikuto… getting to know him and learn his habits. But what's going to happen on a visit from Tadase?

**Author's Note:**  
All right, sorry for the long delay. It's been two weeks since the last release, but meh. I was debating whether I should release this one, or I should release AS. But for AS, I have a bit of a writer's block, but I'll get through it soon enough. This one is going to be involving a lot of trouble and problems that going to arise, seeing as Tadase ignites and begins the story. This is where our story begins.

Enjoy this chappie~ And review if you want to see/read what's going to happen next!

Total Word of Chapter Count: 7074  
Misc. crap extras: 209

**Disclaimer:**  
Shugo Chara and all related characters and elements are the property, copyright and trademark of Peach Pit and no ownership or claim on said property, copyright or trademark is made or implied by their use in the work(s) of fan fiction presented here. This fan fiction constitutes a personal comment on the aforesaid properties pursuant to doctrines of fair use and fair comment. This fan fiction is non-commercial, not for sale or profit, and may not be sold or reproduced for commercial purposes.

* * *

Chapter 2: Ouji's Visit

For a moment, nothing was said in the room.

"Wa-wait a minute," Amu started. "He's the bodyguard of whom?"

Her father laughed like it was the most obvious thing in the world. But to Amu, it sadly didn't seem to be that way… mainly because it was her disbelief and shock.

"To you, of course; I can't have you going around with just any guard right? After all, you're the daughter to me, and you know how my position is."

Shock had riddled anymore words that could be procured from her mouth.

Leaving it to his daughter to let the information sink, he turned back to Ikuto. "So, will you take the job? I'll pay you handsomely each week and you can use the money how you see fit."

"Actually, instead of giving me pay, would you allow me to stay in one of your special-set-aside guestrooms? And an erhu."

Amu looked up at Ikuto in confusion before switching her gaze to her father as if to ask him the question by what sort of instrument that was.

"I'm sorry, a what?" Tsumugu asked, unable to answer his daughter's confusion.

Ikuto's smile disappeared and was replaced with one that seemed… distant. "I've done some very far and wide traveling during my freedom from my Lord and master, and in that, I've traveled to rather distant places."

Interested, Tsumugu listened curiously.

"In one of the places I've traveled to, is over the sea, to the countries near this one. I had only recently reacquired these blades, having them left behind at a friend's house. In one of the countries, their country is almost very much like our own, but seeing as I was a traveler, they did not really stop me to ask questions. I happened across a shop that was playing some very beautiful music. I stepped in and discovered that there was a man playing an erhu. It's a very unique sound and I'll gladly play for you should I be able to get it."

Tsumugu seemed thoughtful but Amu was skeptical. Had he really traveled to another country? She may not know much of his life, but the story sounded a bit suspicious and some parts of it sounded a bit odd. Even the way he looked seemed out of place with the story. His face carefully sculpted, as if careful not to show any sort of emotion on his face. It remained stoic but something in his eyes told her something entirely different. It was… something fierce that was in his eyes about this particular instrument.

"And I'm supposing that it's impossible to buy it here?" Tsumugu asked after a moment of silence.

Ikuto nodded. "It's one of our neighboring countries… I believe you may have heard of them… The Chinese? But I hear that some Chinese do reside in our country, making the instruments…"

Tsumugu looked shocked at this new piece of information before he pulled back his good face and said, "All right, that will be my payment to you for protecting my daughter. But in return, I hope that you will not perform it in front me, my younger daughter, and my wife… better yet, away from the rest of the household."

"Eh?" Amu was confused. It was just an instrument, yet, why was Ikuto not allowed to play here?

Something flickered across his face before he nodded very slowly. "You're allowing me to play in front of the hime-sama here?"

"Yes, as she already knows of its soon-to-be existence and I'm pretty sure she will be very curious as to what it sounds like… just so long as you do not play the instrument here."

"Then playing it elsewhere will be difficult. Even if I go out to the farmland to play, people will still be able to hear me and my job would be to protect hime-sama… would you allow me my pleasure while I'm on duty?" He raised an eyebrow in question, as such a condition would be rather difficult to fulfill.

"At the end of the week, the family and servants of the household always leaves to check in with the family outside on the farmland, while my family and I go and talk to the farmers and collect the taxes. That is the day I shall allow you to play the instrument.

"And everything you do, you must report to Dia, her caretaker, who will report to me. I'm a very busy man, so I expect at least one report a week from her about you."

Tsumugu's stern gaze and firm order was resolute.

"Understood; under these conditions, I agree and accept the job as hime-sama's bodyguard." Ikuto pulled out a piece of paper (from where, Amu doesn't know) and a brush. He also withdrew an ink well and dipped it in before writing on the parchment their agreement. She watched in awe as Ikuto's fluid and graceful writing revealed itself in his brush and she watched as he signed his name. Mildly, she noted that even his fingers were long and elegant. Everything about this man seemed to be too pretty for her, yet still so rough and manly that she wondered how such a living paradox was real.

He handed the brush over to Tsumugu and he signed it as well before picking up the parchment and rolled it up, tucking it into the sleeve of his kimono. "You will start your duties today. You go everywhere she goes; aside from the times she needs her privacy. She is your master now."

Ikuto nodded and before Amu could say anything more to her father, he left the room as he slid the door shut with a loud _bang_.

"Now I serve you, Amu_-sama_," Ikuto smirked.

Feeling the same boiling anger that she felt earlier, she was about to retort when the door slid open again. This time, it was Ran with the meals. She set the trays in front of the pair and sat aside, ready to be called upon for anything that Amu might need.

She looked at her tray and discovered a piece of paper was there. She picked up, curious, and read what was written on it.

Not realizing it, she looked crestfallen before she giggled at the contents of the letter. It then changed to horror when she realized what the rest of the letter said.

Ikuto chuckled, causing Amu to look up and glare, "What's so funny?"

"You, my dear," he replied. His eyes half closed as he watched her blush blossom across her face in embarrassment. "And it's amazing how you're so not cute with that scowl across your face."

"SH-SHUT UP!" she managed to snap. Her heart had raced at the words he had used after "you." It made her heart flutter and she wondered unwittingly to what he would sound like should he be genuine about his feelings.

"I'm guessing the letter came from one of your suitors?" he asked with a slightly raised eyebrow again as he continued to eat his dinner.

"N-Not really…" she muttered as she set aside the letter and began to eat.

"Oh? Then what's with the rapid facial changes?" He picked up a piece of a vegetable before putting it into his mouth.

"Well, he apologized for the troubles I had faced while I was on my way to his home and said that he will take care of the matter himself so that the next time I go, that I wouldn't have to worry."

Ikuto raised an eyebrow before continuing to eat; he seemed skeptic.

"What?" Amu asked indignantly.

He merely shrugged and his eyes closed half way as if he seemed… he knew something that she did not. His smirk only became wider, "I really doubt that that ouji will be really to help; after all, he only has so much power for being an ouji."

Amu twitched in anger as she tried her utmost best to be nice to this man. "Tadase-sama isn't like that and he doesn't like to be referred by his title."

"What else does the letter say?" Ikuto ignored her comment.

"I didn't read that far into it before you bothered me," she growled, stabbing into a poor carrot.

He chuckled before he said, "I'm pretty sure that you already have finished reading the letter; I talked to you just after you finished, remember?"

"Oh, right, you _joked_ with me for no apparent reason," she said sarcastically. "And it was so _nice_ of you to _not_ laugh."

Again, he raised an eyebrow, "Like it or not, you're going to be stuck with me until you can find a suitor to marry who can provide for you and for you to move out of this household."

She glared. She simply glared at this man.

He chuckled before adjusting himself, revealing a bit of his upper chest that caught her by surprise. Her glare was disrupted by the shock that overcame her face. He had so _many_…

When Ikuto realized what she was staring at, he quickly readjusted himself and sat a bit more upright. He regretted for a moment ever letting his guard down around this girl… but… it was so _comfortable_ to talk to her, despite his want to tease her to no end to see her reactions.

"H-How'd you get so many of those… those scars?" she asked softly.

He looked at her for a moment before deciding how to answer:

With a smirk.

"Wouldn't you like to know."

Her anger again flared; he was avoiding the question, just like he had with any of the earlier inquires that she had made about himself.

"Of course, were you my _lover_, I wouldn't mind showing them to you," his eyes glinted with mischief.

She flushed with embarrassment and anger as she snapped, "Like hell I would!" Grudgingly, her poor dinner had to suffer her wrath as she stabbed, tore, and shredded them.

When she had calmed down at eating dessert, she glanced up for a moment at Ikuto to see what he was doing.

He was eating a strawberry and her eyes widened when she saw what he was doing.

When he became aware that she was watching him eat, he decided to tease her again. He put the strawberry to his mouth and kissed it so softly, it didn't look like he had kissed it all; in fact, it looked like he had just brushed his lips over the surface. He took the tip of the strawberry and his teeth grazed it as he moved it over his lips.

Amu was beginning to feel unnaturally hot and bothered her heart racing and her mind becoming muddled. What the heck was she thinking about? What the hell was he doing to the… the… strawberry?!

When his tongue flicked out against the strawberry before taking a very slow bite out of it, she flinched and suddenly, she felt molten lava form at her naval, causing her to squirm.

However, it was cut short when he finished the strawberry, but it only got worse as he licked his fingers so delicately, that for an instant, she saw a flash of it being her hand.

Instantly, she flushed so brightly red, she stuttered, "I-I-I'm d-done my d-d-d-d-dinner!"

Ran seemed to have been focused on a book she had brought out of her secret hiding place and snapped to attention when her master suddenly exclaimed that she had finished. She had entirely missed the exchange just then.

Just as Ran was about to guide her out of the room, she heard him say, "I'm going to make you want me so bad, that you can't resist me the next time I do something like that because now… you're _mine_."

At the word "mine," her body shivered with such delight that she clenched her eyes shut before rushing out.

As Ikuto heard her footsteps disappear, he buried his face in his hands.

"What the hell am I doing?"

The only thing that ran through his mind was his sudden lust for her… to see her slowly unwrapped from her suffocating kimono and to have her under him… and the face that she had just showed him as he was teasing her with the strawberry.

"Damnit, this wasn't supposed to happen," he muttered.

* * *

Amu couldn't stop thinking about him. She couldn't stop thinking about things that she _knew_ she wasn't supposed to think about until she was married to a husband; _her_ husband.

And yet, he managed to do that to her!

Her body shook with something that she didn't recognize; her body felt so unsure and suddenly so strange… it was as if this body was no longer her own and was suddenly afraid of what might happen if she was left alone with him. All he did was tease her to no end and irritate her! And yet, how could he possibly do _that_ to her!

She felt so… so… so… violated!

Even though he hadn't touched her, but she wished he did.

Wait, what?!

She threw her futon's pillow at the wall, grunting in frustration. It was nighttime now, and everyone should be asleep now. She couldn't sleep without his face running through her mind. Why… Why… WHY?!

She couldn't understand what she wanted, what she exactly _wanted_ from him. She wanted more, but she couldn't figure out what or why she wanted more. She grunted as she got up from her futon and went to collect her pillow before settling back on the place where she ought to be sleeping right now.

_Why is that he's able to stir such… such… such strange emotions in me?_ She thought. _I've only just met him!_

She sighed, finally calming down as she began to think things through more clearly now that her body was slowly tiring itself out from… something she couldn't figure out.

_I didn't tell him about Tadase-sama coming… I think that now he's my bodyguard, he ought to know things like this? In case something bad might happen…_ she thought. As much as she didn't want to tell him about Tadase coming, she felt like she had no choice; she didn't want to risk her family's safety for her own stubbornness of showing weakness to her enemy who, ironically, is her bodyguard.

But… as she began to think more about Ikuto, the more she began to realize that he hadn't told her anything about himself. He had remained something anonymous to her and was mysterious. Who were his parents? Did he have any siblings?

… More importantly, where and how did he get all of those scars?

Amu lay down to sleep, sighing in frustration that her late night musings were getting her nowhere. As she curled up under the blankets, she couldn't help but wonder what the future might bring.

* * *

In the next month, Amu sent letters to Tadase and he replied. He had been too busy doing something important to pay a visit in return for her try to his. When he finally agreed that he was able to come for a visit, Amu's household went into a flurry for preparation of the ouji's visit. She had sent a letter to him to not rush here, for their home was a mess, and that he ought to come a week later with his gifts and such that he was going to give and show her had she gone to his home. He sent back another letter saying that he agreed and that he will come in one week's time.

And in that month and a week, she somehow managed to grow tremendously close to the man that was the wandering ronin (or as she liked to call it, her drifter) as he endlessly teased her day in and day out.

The day before the Ouji was going to visit; Amu was sitting on the balcony, reading a book when Dia came up to her, tapping on her shoulder.

"Dia!" Amu greeted happily as Dia bent down for a hug. "How are you?"

Dia smiled back, "I've been doing great, thank you and the mark is all healed up now so Tsumugu said that I may come back to my duties now."

Amu seemed thoughtful. If it hadn't been for Ikuto, then Amu might not be sitting here now… let alone Dia. She suddenly felt intensely grateful for her drifter…. Wait, when did she give him a nickname? (And a fond one at that!)

"Miki is here today to paint you," Dia said as her eyes glanced toward the side. Amu's eyes followed to the side and smiled at her old friend.

Amu got up and went to hug her friend, who smiled and hugged her back. "Wow, you've really changed!"

Amu giggled as she surveyed her friend. She had spiked blue hair with almost luminescent blue eyes. She was said that she had been born under the moon and since that her life was in danger, her parents begged the gods to save her and when she was placed next to paint, her hair changed colors. It was said that it was because she was blessed with the gift of art that she was able to live; because she had such a bright future ahead of her. She had a fair complexion and wore a necklace around her neck with that of a spade with the attire of the family's artisan. Amu heard rumors that Miki might be secretly a tattoo artist…

However, Amu noticed her tomboy friend looking into the back of the room, where Ikuto sat, sleeping sitting upright. During the month and a week, Amu began to find a pattern in his sleep and discovered that he slept during the day often but what he did during the night, she didn't know because she always fell asleep before she could.

Her eyes sparkled with inspiration, "He's beautiful!"

"EH?!" Amu and Dia exclaimed in unison, snapping Ikuto to alert as he jumped up to standing with his hands poised at his swords.

He blinked when he realized that there was no trouble and yawned… like a cat, Amu noted as his other hand ran his fingers through his hair.

"Amu, Amu, please allow me to paint you with him!"

"E-Excuse me?!" Amu exclaimed.

Ikuto blinked, surprised. "Who's- Oh… she's the family artisan, isn't she? … Miki, am I right?"

Miki nodded quickly before she pulled Amu and Ikuto together with strength that didn't fit the girl. "No… no… that isn't right…" she frowned. She dragged the pair outside where the sakura petals were following again. Inspiration had struck her, Amu realized, and there was no way to stop her until her muse dried up.

"You sit like this… you sit like that… no… move your arm like that… yeah… no, no, Amu, move closer… Ikuto, was it? Oh, you're her bodyguard? All the more for me to paint you two together… No, take out your swords like this… ah, there we go… Amu, stop moving!"

They were sitting under the sakura tree then, Amu sitting so close to Ikuto that her back was touching Ikuto's arm. If she were to lay her head back, then it would rest on Ikuto's shoulder. She was sitting in the way that all proper ladies of her prestige sat with kimonos; however, Ikuto was sitting behind her with his sword resting on his other shoulder where it could be seen, instead of being blocked by Amu.

As Miki began to paint, her eyes totally absorbed in painting, Amu began to count how many sakura petals fell. Before she knew it, she leaned back gently into Ikuto's shoulder, causing him to flinch in the uncomfortable position. Before Miki could stop it, Ikuto had readjusted himself to make Amu more comfortable while making himself comfortable as well. He leaned back onto the sakura tree and then also, before he realized it, he dozed off, his head tilting over to the side and onto Amu's head.

"Eh?" Miki blinked when she realized what had just happened, but smiled. "Dia, come here and look- oh, Ran, you too!"

The pair came over and smiled. Ran even giggled.

"They look so cute," Ran gushed.

"Yes, they do, please paint them like that instead," Dia insisted.

"Well, I'm glad I have photographic memory, but this is even better than the pose I had made them do earlier… this looks more natural," Miki admitted with a grin. "I get to paint such a handsome and beautiful man like him with such a precious jewel like Amu. And look! I love how they contrast each other!"

Dia only smiled, "You ought to come over more… he teases her to no end, but we all can see it in his eyes that he's becoming more and more fond of her with each passing day."

Suu knocked on the door, "Girls, I have-"

"SHH!" Ran and Dia said quickly, rushing to Suu and making her suddenly quiet as they covered her mouth. They moved the food on a tray to the table and guided Suu to where they had been standing earlier. "Look."

Suu giggled and smiled. "Finally, they aren't bickering."

"So I've heard… I'm painting this way, now go away; I need to work in peace," Miki shooed.

As Dia walked away from the artist, she suddenly stopped walking and paled as she turned to face the sleeping pair.

"Dia, what's wrong?" Ran asked, noticing her sister's sudden change in mood.

Suu stopped as well to look at Dia with concern.

"Don't you feel that?"

When the pair didn't understand, Dia had to explain softly and gently.

"Don't you feel like that this is the calm before the storm? That something bad is going to happen soon?"

Ran paled significantly and Suu only sniffled. Somehow, they knew that they were right; the household had become livelier with Ikuto and Amu together… even Tsumugu and Midori noticed. Ami had even come to love and adore Ikuto, almost just as much as she did with her sister.

Ran gulped, "We can only hope that this peace will last as long as it can… I don't want to see Amu-hime suffer… I've never seen her so stubbornly cute and happy before."

"And I don't think she realizes it either," Dia said sadly.

Suu smiled weakly, "We'll just have to wait and see."

The next day came and as agreed, came the Ouji.

That's when the trouble started.

* * *

After waking up suddenly in a position with Ikuto that shocked her to no end, she was reassured of Tadase's visit the next day and that she shouldn't panic about something like that… and it quickly became something in the back of her mind…

Amu was excited as she getting ready to greet her prince. Amu thought that this man was her suitor, the one man that was going to finally say that he loved her and that he was going to be willing to marry her. That he might just be that one for her.

Ikuto had gone ahead to see the carriage and see if it came all right. When he came back, he had cleared that it was all right and he didn't sense anything of trouble nearby. But Amu had heard what he added in an undertone to her father: "For now… For now it's peaceful, but for some reason, I have a very ominous feeling about what is to come."

She heard her father mutter some words back to Ikuto and together, they left the lobby. Even her mother looked worriedly at the pair. Recently, Ikuto had even gotten close to her father in ways that would have helped any daimyo tremendously. In a way, Ikuto had become someone very important in their family.

Even to Amu, as much as she didn't want to admit it.

But in her mind at that moment, she didn't care about what was going on between her father and Ikuto and instead, was focused on getting ready to meet Tadase.

His carriage entered the courtyard and she ran out to meet him with Ran and Dia running on after. Miki had told her yesterday that she was going to stay for awhile because her home was currently undergoing some troubles that she herself could not tell Amu. Miki, however, had said that she will remain indoors to meet him; she said that her skin burned easily at the time that Tadase was to come.

Amu fidgeted as she waited for Tadase to step out. When he did, his blonde hair was shown clearly in the sun as it was almost golden. His red-violet eyes seemed to smile at Amu when he saw that she was there to greet him as his mouth itself smiled.

"Amu!" he greeted as he clasped his hands around her own. For a moment, Amu recognized that he had hands that fit that of a man and abruptly, remembered Ikuto's fingers as he had played with the strawberry.

"Tadase-sama!" she greeted with a grin, shoving harshly aside that thought. This wasn't the time to think about Ikuto like that. Not now, not ever.

"I heard that you had gotten a bodyguard, where is he?" he asked, but before Amu could reply, Ran spoke up.

"Ouji-sama, please step into the sitting room so that you may have some tea as you converse," she said she bowed before him, gesturing her hands toward the entrance.

He nodded, "All right." He turned toward Amu and held out his hand with a smile, "Let us go and drink some tea, Hinamori-hime." He took her hand and led her into the room.

For a split second, she noticed that Tadase had used her name when he first saw her, but suddenly changed back to using her surname and honorific.

As she sat down, Ran poured tea for her and Tadase before they began to talk.

"Hime, did you really get a bodyguard?"

Amu nodded, sighing with a smile, "Yes, I have. My father asked him to." _I guess he's too polite to suddenly really change calling me my name more personally._

"Then where is he? I would like to meet him," his eyes looked around the room for the bodyguard but could find no one that resembled on. Miki sat in the corner and stood up when he spotted her.

"I'm Miki, the Hinamori's artisan; it's a pleasure to meet you, Ouji-sama," she greeted, bowing.

"Ah, it's a pleasure to meet you too," Tadase said with the slight bow of his head before he turned his attention to the female across from him, his eyes as if asking where he was.

Amu tilted her head in question; when she became aware of the fact that Tadase hadn't brought his brother. "Where's your brother?" she asked, ignoring Tadase's look of question.

"Ah, he said he'll be here soon enough with a few friends of mine who are willing to perform for you here." Tadase smiled. "I had really wanted you to meet them when you were coming for a visit, but you could not due to those bandits."

"How is the situation with the bandits?" Amu asked as she took a sip of tea.

"Ah… I think it has gotten worse," Tadase said softly, staring into the beverage with a solemn expression. "It's even more dangerous for women of all sorts to go out onto the streets, least they will not be seen again. The worst part of it all is that it's still in your region."

Amu blinked.

"My region? You mean the region that my father rules over?"

"Yes, I'm afraid so," he took a sip. "I have seen some precautions taken and I've already noticed a significant change in the bandits. I have my eye on the lookout for them, but I can't help but think that someone is stirring all this sort of trouble up, but my sources can't figure out who."

Suddenly, this visit of her beloved Ouji isn't turning out to how she wanted it to be at all. At the thought of this, she kept her disappointed face behind a mask of impassiveness.

"But I didn't come here to make you worry about such things as that; you're a hime, you shouldn't listen to me spouting this stuff," Tadase said with a weak smile. "But, I came here to see you after all; how are you?"

"I'm great, thanks," she said with a smile. "I'm just glad you're fine on your way here."

Before he could say anything more, Dia came and slid open the door to reveal four people. One of them had pale purple hair with blue eyes but with looks that were very similar to Tadase. The other three next to him were very elegant or very sophisticated.

Amu observed that the male in front with dark purple hair and amber eyes. He had long hair that was tied at the back of his head. He had a charming and comforting smile and the ideal posture for dancing. He wore a kimono of a tasteful color of blue and white with dark purple-black tinged in some places to accent his hair. Then two other heads appeared from behind, one with pink-purple hair with amethyst eyes and the other with blue-purple hair that matched his eyes.

The three of them wore kimonos, the female wearing a sakura kimono with various shades of pink. She hid her mouth with her hand hidden inside the sleeve of the kimono. Her hair was tied up at the back of her head with two sakura shaped flowers clipped in, to hold it in place. Her eyes looked around with curiosity and glanced over at the male standing next to her. He had his hair done up like that of a ronin and had a very boy-like smile. Amu got the feeling that he was the laid back one of the group who appeared to be the most outgoing of the trio. He wore a kimono of light blue, blue, and white. It was considerably plain in comparison to the girl, but he didn't seem to care.

"Hello, I'm Nagihiko Fujisaki; it's a pleasure to be able to finally meet you, hime-sama," the dark purple haired male said as he bowed to her. "This is my brother and sister, both of which are younger than I am."

The boy spoke up first, "But I act more like the older one, Nagi-kun." Before Nagihiko could retort anything, he bowed to Amu as he said, "I'm Rhythm Fujisaki; it's nice to meet you, Amu-sama."

"Oh? Already on a name basis?" the girl said in a soft, girlish voice that Amu was surprised. It was softer than what she had expected for the girl. It sounded as if she was the youngest of the three.

"I'm Temari Fujisaki, the youngest while Rhythm is the middle child," she explained. Amu could hear a chime of laughter on the tip of her voice, as if amused by her brothers' interaction.

"Well, she's awfully cute," Rhythm complimented. "I could see why Tadase-sama kept-"

"HEY!"

Amu blinked when she heard another voice come from behind, who busily pushed his way passed the three and into the room. This was the pale haired, blue eyed boy she saw earlier.

"Kiseki!" Tadase exclaimed. "You came with them?"

"Of course," he snapped angrily. He sat down like a spoiled child at the table, grabbing the meat buns that had suddenly appeared there.

_Dia must of snuck them while Nagihiko, Temari, and Rhythm were introducing themselves…_ Amu thought.

"Kiseki-kun, how are you?" Amu greeted with a smile at the younger brother.

"I'm fine, thanks," he replied as he chewed on the bun. Amu felt almost irritated by his reaction.

"Kiseki…" Tadase began.

"Sorry, it's nice seeing you again, Amu-sama," Kiseki said, trying to sound sincere.

Temari giggled, "I see that even now, Kiseki will never stop being spoiled."

"I have to agree with you there," Rhythm laughed. "He's just as spoiled if he were the son of the Emperor."

"Guys…" Nagihiko warned. "We came here for a reason, remember?"

"So then, let's start!" Rhythm said enthusiastically and entered the room and stood in the middle of the cleared area of the room. Temari and Nagihiko followed as they each brought out a fan.

"Nagihiko-san and Rhythm-san are both dancers as well?" Amu asked, raising an eye-brow. This was the first time she's heard of a male dancer before. Her father had often only had female dancers to dance for them, never males.

"We're not ordinary dancers," Rhythm said with a wink.

Nagihiko sighed, "Rhythm, don't be flirting with the princess now."

"Nagihiko-san and his siblings come from a very distinguished dancing school from Fujisaki School; they're quite famous," Tadase explained.

"Gosh, it's so tiring hearing nii-san's full name being said," Rhythm commented. "Just call him Nagi-kun."

"Nagi-kun?" Amu repeated, paling slightly. "But to call him like that so… so…"

Nagihiko laughed, "It's all right, you can just call me 'Nagi-san', if that makes you feel better, Amu-sama."

"Rhythm doesn't like too much formality; he likes a comfortable atmosphere with everyone," Temari explained. Her eyes seemed to have smiled for her, instead of using her mouth. Her mouth this time was hidden by the tip of her fan.

"Now, can we get on with the performance we're supposed to be dancing?"

"Sure thing," Rhythm said, getting into position.

Tadase, Amu, and Kiseki sat down around the table, and watched the show proceed. Amu was in awe at how beautiful each of them performed, especially Nagi who surprised her with moves that she wasn't expecting that still managed to look graceful. They moved in sync with each other, following one another in such fluid movements that it looked so easy. If there was a mistake in the performance, they covered it up well. When they finished, Amu applauded the loudest while Tadase and Kiseki applauded as much as they would want to.

"That was wonderful; absolutely brilliant!" Amu exclaimed, her eyes glittering with admiration.

"Haha, I don't think that performance was _that_ good," Nagi said. "I'm still mediocre at best and I still have long ways to becoming a great dancer."

"But you are pretty good today and in good form," Rhythm noted. He winked at Nagi when no one was looking, but him.

"So were you, Rhy," Temari giggled. "In fact, we all were."

"Nii-san," Kiseki said, turning to his brother. "I got to get going home soon; my lessons for today."

"Ah, yes, I forgot about those… and you can't go back with Nagihiko-san, can you?" Tadase realized.

"No, I'm afraid not; we're going to our next performance after we leave here," Nagi said apologetically.

"Ah, all right, come on Kiseki; let's go see if we can get a messenger… Excuse me a moment, hime-sama," Tadase excused as he got up and led his brother out from the room.

"Ah, so it's just us, is it?" Rhythm said as he sat down at the table and took a bun for a bite. Temari sat down after followed by Nagi. Temari picked one up and took a nibble as Nagi looked over at Amu.

"Did you really like our performance that much?"

Her eyes still shined with awe from the show. She nodded, "Yep… and I've seen a lot of dancers… partially why I'm so amazed was because I know how well you performed. I tried learning how to dance myself, but it didn't end up very well."

"Ah, dancing is a very difficult hobby," Nagi agreed; "but it's very soothing and worthwhile if you really put your mind to it."

She couldn't agree more.

"Oh, I heard you had gotten a bodyguard… where is he?" Temari asked, sensing the sudden pause in conversation.

"Everyone has been asking about that," Amu blinked. Why was everyone so curious?

"Well, it's probably because it's kind of rare for someone to have a personal bodyguard in this area, especially for a family like yours," Rhythm said.

"And we heard that he was randomly picked off the streets," Nagi recollected. "But he had showed some skill that not many ronins here know how to do."

"He had saved me from a bunch of bandits last month," Amu said. A month already? A month was already how long she knew him for? To her, it felt longer.

Before Nagi could say anything else, the door slid open so fast, that when it hit the wall, it gave it a loud _bang_.

"Tadase-kun!" Amu exclaimed as Ran suddenly stood up to move to her mistress.

"What's wrong?" Nagi asked, frowning when he noticed distress on Tadase's face.

"Hinamori-san… why is Ikuto here?" he asked, his voice shaking with an emotion that she couldn't recognize.

"Ikuto…?" Nagi, Temari, and Rhythm said in unison.

Before she could answer, she heard the familiar velvety, smooth voice, "Calm down, Kiddy King, there's no harm in me being here."

He was so angry that he shook, unable to say anything.

Ikuto walked in with his hands tucked in his sleeves. His swords rested on his hip and he had a casual, calm air about him. He had that characteristic smirk that Amu had to learn the hard way was his number one recognizable trait. He leaned against the wall, watching Tadase. For a second, Amu thought she could see a tail when he smirked at Tadase's reaction.

"You shouldn't be here with Hinamori-sama!" Tadase said childishly. Amu blinked. Wait a minute, how did Tadase and Ikuto know each other?

He raised an eye-brow, "Oh, really? I wasn't aware there was a law that I shouldn't be with Hinamori-_sama_," he smirked bigger.

Amu felt like her feathers were ruffled as well. He was picking on her too!

"I am your master that you should obey, or you don't get your payment!" Amu snapped even more childishly.

This time, Ikuto turned to the pinkette with an even more amused and wider smirk. "I think I already had my payment."

She blinked, dumbfounded. What did he mean? The erhu had yet to arrive, so how did he already receive his payment?

"Payment? I already gave you your payment?"

"Yes, you did, although, you were much too scared at the time to notice," he said brazenly.

As Nagi, Temari, Rhythm, Ran, and Tadase watched Amu, her mind went back to the first time she met him.

For a moment, she didn't understand until…

"AH!!!" she screamed with her face turning vividly bright red. "You… you… you…!!! You really didn't… You really did! H-how could you?!"

Ikuto's smirk couldn't be any bigger then when he saw the realization dawn on her face.

"What did he do, Hinamori-san? If it was that bad, I'll go kill him myself," Tadase said. Although, she couldn't tell if he was serious enough, she was in too much of shock and surprise to really say much other than say what was going through her mind at the moment about that… moment.

The worst part was… she couldn't tell anyone about it; it's far too embarrassing and humiliating. The run-in had been her fault after all.

"It's not that bad," Ikuto said as he got up. "Just be glad it's me other than some stranger who would have taken advantage of you in no time at all."

"Ad-Adavantage…?" Nagi echoed.

Ran realized it first, "He… he touched you?"

"Of course he tou-" Tadase began.

"I'm not talking about that," she snapped at Tadase. She went up to Amu and held her hands in her own. "You know what I'm talking about, don't you?"

"It… really wasn't that bad…" Amu said quietly.

* * *

Without anything else to say, Nagihiko, Temari, and Rhythm had left for their next destination while Tadase and Kiseki were on their way home in a carriage. In the end, Tadase couldn't figure out what it was that Amu was talking about when Ran stepped in. She had told him straight out that he shouldn't worry; that it was nothing bad or horrible enough to fire Ikuto. After all, the incident had been before he was hired and it had been once, Ikuto confirmed it.

Dia had gone out that night to verify it further. Ran and Dia had told the group not to say a single word of who Amu's bodyguard was, and would not explain the reason why, no matter how much they asked.

Now, it was only Amu and Ikuto in the same room. Her father and mother had decided to turn in for the night and her little sister had gone to sleep way before her parents did. Ran had left to head to bed, tired from the day's work as well as the event earlier that night.

The silence that sat between them was stifling and Amu wanted to smack the stuffiness out of the air.

"I'm sorry," Ikuto said after awhile.

The room had gone dark now, the candle light blown out. The full moon's light shined into the room and the evening was mildly warm… getting colder… little by little. From where Amu lay, she could see Ikuto's silhouette.

"For what…?" She was playing ignorant, not knowing what he was talking about. She wanted him to apologize again. But she was disappointed as she heard him sigh.

"You know what I'm talking about."

Suddenly, Amu was struck with the sudden feeling of sadness. Startled, she sat upright and shuffled out of her bed and found Ikuto standing by the window, looking out into the sky. He turned to look at her, surprised by the sound and by the rapid movement. Concern rippled on his face, trying to be buried underneath the smirk. "Is something the matter?"

She didn't know what to say. The world suddenly felt eerily quiet and lonely when she looked at Ikuto at that moment. He stood alone in the moonlight, with an expression that Amu recognized as his smirk. But before he had turned to face her, he had the loneliest look that she had ever seen on his face. Something stirred inside of her that she didn't know what to call it. It wasn't that same feeling when he was eating the strawberry, but it stirred something in her nonetheless.

"Amu…"

"Hmm…?"

"Would you let me kiss you?"


	3. Dangerous Noodle Soup

**Summary:**  
The end of the week arrives and Amu hears the most beautiful, but saddest music she's ever heard. While trying to decipher why Ikuto acted the way he had, Amu visits a noodle or ramen shop for the first time. But… Ikuto's injured? Amuto. R&R.

**Author's Note:**  
Okay, I'm sorry for the SERIOUSLY long delay but I had been seriously busy. I finally got a chapter of this done because I had been getting anxious about what I wanted to happen. In this chappie, you guys get to meet three other familiar characters. Others are to come, but not yet; their time is not yet. This chapter is seriously FILLED with Amuto stuff, all over the place. If you guys don't die of fluff, something is wrong with you guys. xD But yeah, Dia felt something was wrong and now… it's everywhere. I wonder if you guys can figure out where this plot is going?

Total Word of Chapter Count: 6207  
Misc. crap extras: 249

**Disclaimer:**  
Shugo Chara and all related characters and elements are the property, copyright and trademark of Peach Pit and no ownership or claim on said property, copyright or trademark is made or implied by their use in the work(s) of fan fiction presented here. This fan fiction constitutes a personal comment on the aforesaid properties pursuant to doctrines of fair use and fair comment. This fan fiction is non-commercial, not for sale or profit, and may not be sold or reproduced for commercial purposes.

* * *

Chapter 3: Dangerous Noodle Soup

Amu blinked as Ikuto's eyes moved to watch her. For once, he didn't have a smirk nor did he have a joke on his lips.

Was he really serious?

"K-Kiss…?" she stuttered, recovering from her shock. She didn't know what to expect… this wasn't a side of Ikuto that she knew how to counter.

Slowly, he moved toward her and sat down before her. "Amu, would you?"

She looked around… trying to avoid the question… trying to avoid answering. She was afraid that if she answered, something horrible was going to happen… or something along those lines.

"Amu…"

His fingers curled under her chin, making her look his way. She was suddenly aware that those sapphire orbs that had always been watching other things and was filled with jokes, was no longer so. It was… suffocating. There were so many emotions inside of those eyes that Amu wanted to reach out and soothe them, to calm the storm that was inside. What was going through his mind now that caused such an expression?

"Ikuto… is something wrong?"

He surprised her by suddenly pulling her close to him, to his chest. She sat there and looked up, trying to get an answer from him. She was startled, however, when he rested his head on her shoulder. He murmured in the quietest voice she's ever heard him use, "Let me stay like this for awhile… just for a little bit."

She didn't reply, suddenly uncertain of her understanding of Ikuto. It's true; it had only been a month since she's met him, but already, she realized that if he were to leave, it'd be… shallow and missing something.

She didn't know how long they sat like that for, nor did she know what sort of thoughts ran through his mind… all she knew was that he needed her, even if it was just a moment.

When she shivered, Ikuto sat back upright and held her in his arms, warming her up instantly. "I-Ikuto!"

His face was buried in her shoulder, and she could feel his breath. It was hot and it made something heat up inside of her. "You smell nice…" he murmured, his voice muffled by the cloth of her sleeping wear. He sounded sincere and wondered again, what was going through his mind. When he finally lifted himself away from her, he whispered, "I think I should let you go to sleep now."

Her face questioned what he meant by the question posed earlier and he only chuckled. "No… I won't touch you like that… I won't do anything that you won't like." Instead, he kissed her forehead and rested his forehead against her own, "It's time for bed, my _hime_…"

He picked her up gently and lay her down on her bed and pulled up the blankets. It was chilly after no one had slept inside it, but he wrapped her up in the blanket anyway. She watched him cautiously and kept wondering why it felt like something was going to happen, why it felt like Ikuto might _disappear_.

* * *

The next day, Amu woke up with slightly groggy feeling. She woke up mainly because the home that she lived in was far too quiet and had not at all heard the sounds of her younger sibling running through the halls with the maids running on after her. There was no screaming of glee or even the sound of her sister's voice when she found or heard the new songs of her favorite singer. Even the sound of her parents or the servants weren't heard in the home as Amu sat up and stretched. Everything was quiet except for what sounded like music that seemed to echo throughout the home when she realized that the strange sound she was hearing was actually music.

Amu has never heard this kind of music before. She knew it was string, certainly, but she didn't know what the music belonged to. Was it being played on their record player? It was probably being played by someone, but the only person she knew who was home… Ah, it was Sunday. It was the day of the week where father leaves the home with everyone to have a day off and to talk to the farmers living on the land of the Hinamori's.

She brushed her hair in front of her vanity and got herself ready for the day. She decided to follow the sound of the music and ended up walking along the "patio" that circled along the outside edge of the home. She walked along it until she came across the garden and she saw the familiar figure sitting there, playing the instrument. She thought it had been beautiful, but on closer inspection, she realized that the music she was listening to was actually a very sad song. It was so heartbreaking that she wondered what could possibly be on his mind.

Abruptly, he stopped playing the instrument to do what sounded like tuning. "It's nice of you to just spy on me, Amu-_sama_."

She will NOT get ruffled up this early in the day by his antics. She sat down next to him in a huff and said stiffly, "No, I was not, and surely, you heard me coming anyway."

Ikuto didn't say anything for awhile as he continued to play the erhu.

"Is that the payment you asked of my father? The erhu?" Amu asked as she watched him play. He was playing a song that wasn't quite as sad as earlier.

Without turning to face her, he replied, "Yes, it is." He got up to move inside and came back like he always did and sat down in the room that was opened out into the garden. He sat down before a table on the tatami mat to drink some more of his tea. Amu came over and joined him as she took a sip as well from the already prepared tea cup.

"Why did father act the way he did when you asked for the instrument?" she asked after she had finished an entire cup.

Ikuto looked up from the tuning to continue playing and looked like he pondered over the answer before he replied, "I don't think that's a question that I ought to answer without your father's permission."

His eyes seemed to reflect something very important that made Amu suspect that something older than her probably had happened around the instrument, but what could it be? Amu began to think toward the beginning of their meeting. Why hadn't Ikuto told them his surname or who was the master that he served? Where and how did he get all of those scars? Where did he learn such swordsmanship? And where did he find the time to learn to also play the erhu? And most importantly, why did it sound so saddening heartbreaking?

She watched as he continued to play. It was so peaceful now, and she wondered why she felt like something bad was going to happen sooner or later. It was as if she knew that this little moment of peace was not going to last forever. Then again, their peace together was disrupted when Tadase had visited. What was their knowledge of each other? How did they meet? Why do they know each other? Why was there so much tension between the two?

She couldn't help but remember what she had seen of Ikuto last night and suddenly realized how far away he felt. He was right across the table from her, and yet, he felt like he was getting further and further away ever since Tadase's visit. But they had shared such an intimate moment the night before… why did it seem like he was stepping away further from her?

Amu snapped out of her reverie when she noticed that Ikuto had stopped playing as he put the musical instrument away into its case. She noticed there was a rag nearby and automatically thought that the rag was for cleaning the erhu or polishing it.

"Why are you putting it away so soon?" Amu asked, surprised. Listening to the instrument had soothed her and comforted her, knowing that it was Ikuto's playing. Then again, being in his presence was always comforting in a sense that he was there to protect her; thus, she always felt safe just being near him.

"I've been playing all afternoon and you had only just gotten up," Ikuto smirked. "You slept in like there was no tomorrow when I tried to wake you up. Even Ran-san and Dia-san tried but their efforts fell in vain as you only continued on to sleep."

Amu fell for it as she chirped, "I was having a really good dream!" She tried defending herself but her answer only made Ikuto smirk wider and she couldn't help but wonder that she had fallen for it.

"Right and that constitutes that you can sleep like a rock," Ikuto murmured as he put away the erhu case next to the rest of his belongings. "I don't think anyone can sleep like the way you can."

She glowered in pink of embarrassment and anger. "S-SHUT UP!" she exclaimed.

Before he could reply to her poor retort, he heard something similar to a grumble and realized that it came from the both of them. "Ah, how unladylike."

"Well, that was very ungentlemanly," Amu shot back. _Two can play that game_, she thought.

He only merely shrugged and said, "Well, Suu-san is off today so we're off to fend for ourselves but I'm going to be under the impression that you can't cook for yourself?"

She didn't bother as she sat upright and stood up. Glowering at Ikuto, she snapped, "Suu has always cooked for me so of course I can't cook for myself."

Ikuto raised an eye-brow before he crossed his arms across his chest, causing the swords at his hip to move slightly in the movement. "A very good point, for she is the family cook."

"Duh," Amu said matter-of-factly. She rolled her eyes. Why has it been that ever since he was appointed her bodyguard, he had to find every opportunity to mock her?

Ikuto adjusted himself as he stood upright. "Well, do you want to go out to eat or suffer your own horrible home cooking?" He smirked.

She flushed and snapped, "I'll change," and then stormed out of the room.

He only chuckled before he heard her steps disappear before sighing deeply. He ran his fingers through his midnight blue hair and finally let his guard go for a moment as he murmured, "Why is it that the only thing I do to her is tease her endlessly?" He walked over to the water fountain nearby and ran his fingers underneath before then running through his hair. He looked sexier with the water dripping from his hair so he decided he ought to change into plainer clothes so that he could blend in properly with the people outside of this home. They were going to walk around after all, seeing as most of the servants were out for their day off.

He stopped to look at a mirror and noticed the reflection reflected the erhu case and a flicker of anger and uncertainty crossed his face. He sighed. He started to head down the halls toward Amu's room and found the doors to her room closed. He slid one door open and the sight that he saw sent him almost losing control of himself.

She was half dressed with the kimono hanging around her hips, leaving her entire backside revealed to him. She held out the kimono before she was to lift it up over her shoulders. Her long hair covered the front of her torso which reflected in the mirror in front of her and the light from the sunlight reflected just perfectly on her to show the flawless, creamy skin that she had.

Ikuto's blood warmed and it took so much restraint that he swears that he was going to kill himself because of it. The image of her face at the dinner table when he teased the strawberry made him remember the thoughts he wanted to do to her…

… to dirty her up… and to make her _his_.

Amu had been stuck in a dilemma so she did not hear the door open. She had been trying to figure out if they were going to go by carriage or travel by foot. Her father had told her that he often did that so that he got a sense of being like the others of the commoners. He said he didn't mind but she also had to agree. If she takes the carriage, it would draw too much attention.

She sighed. Without the help of Dia or Ran, she realized she didn't know what clothes she could pick that would help her blend in with the commoners.

"You ought to pick something far more plainly than the one you're wearing if we're going out to the public."

His velvety voice… so close to her that sent a very pleasurable shiver up spine before it was sent to her navel. His hot breath licked her ear that sent such delicious sensations that she held her hands close to her chest, using the kimono to cover herself up. Her face was bright red with embarrassment and… something else…

His fingers and long arms reached around her to her front to pick out a rather plain kimono of dark red and white. His body was so close that she could feel his body heat radiating off of him and onto her back.

"Amu…" he murmured into her ear.

His hands had set down the kimono to pull her close to him, to his chest specifically. His hands were on her slim wrist and she felt the heat of his hands and body radiate onto her own now chilled body. She kept her hands to her chest, to cover up what should only her future husband should see.

His lips brushed against her ear and then down the back of her neck to her upper back. Where his lips touched, it had left a trail of fire and heat on her body. His strong body and strong embrace made her feel so protected, so much safer than she ever thought before was possible.

Suddenly, he turned her around and she was face to face with the man that she didn't know was wildly attracted to. His eyes were half-lidded and underneath them were storm clouds instead of the usual calculating and cool sapphire eyes. His lips drew closer to hers; she closed her eyes half way as well, waiting for something to happen. It was as if time had stopped as she waited for the extraordinary…

And then…

He bit her ear.

"KYAAA!" she exclaimed, as she instinctively head-butted him.

"H-H-HOW DARE YOU!" she sputtered, trying to recover and slow down her racing, pounding heart.

"You so are not cute," he muttered as he rubbed where her head had collided with his own.

"LEAVE THE ROOM, NOW!" Her eyes glared at him and before she could say anything else, he left without a word.

She collapsed and tried to calm her breathing. Wait a minute, when was she holding her breathe? As she dressed into the clothes that Ikuto had suggested, she could still feel his lips on her back… his breath on her ear and… the feeling of his hands on her wrist. Her whole body was hot that she felt like she needed to find some water to go cool off. Her face, when she glanced into the mirror, had a pink flush on her face. She covered her pink cheeks, as if trying to deny to herself that she was not physically attracted to Ikuto… Her body shivered and told her otherwise. Still deeply in denial of her wild attraction to Ikuto, she slammed the door open to find Ikuto sitting on the porch. She could not figure out what was going through his mind, but she realized with a cold shiver that Ikuto's eyes were no longer warm or soft, but instead were back to the same eyes she had always seen on him.

"All right, Amu, time to head out," he said as he got up and began to head to the side-gate.

She realized with worry and concern that Ikuto was hiding something… something very important that everyone in her family did not know except for her father. Who are Ikuto's family? Where are they? Who was his master? What does the erhu have to do with no one else being able to hear it and her being the exception?

She agreed that since he was going to become her bodyguard, that would mean he would have to guard her almost every waking moment and that they could not be separated, least something may happen. So it would have been more or less useless to prevent her from even going near Ikuto when he was playing the erhu… but why even bother getting it for him?

Her mind was sent reeling with questions and she sighed, exasperated, and decided to drop the questions for now. Hopefully, she'll figure it out all later… or at least… come to understand it…

As they left through the side-gate, Amu realized that it was the first time she came out plainly dressed as she did. Ikuto still looked very handsome and almost… icy cool in looks as he glanced around, to make sure nothing was in the way or nearby that is dangerous to Amu. His hands were resting inside the sleeves of his kimono and he followed closely behind Amu.

Amu's eyes sparkled as her eyes wandered the stalls full of fruits, vegetables, candy, and toys along with other miscellaneous objects. She kept glancing back and forth between each object and she couldn't help but want to buy them, and then play with them out of curiosity. But then, before she could ask Ikuto about buying her something, she smelled something she hasn't smelled before. The smell was so tantalizing, she wondered why Suu-chan never made this kind of food before.

"No, no," Ikuto said as he steered Amu away from the place that she was about to walk into.

"EH? Why not?" Amu groaned, the alluring smell so tempting she wanted to disobey Ikuto and walk right in again.

"Because…" Ikuto pulled her away from the noodle shop and began walking. Until they were further away enough, he explained, "It's because that noodle shop isn't really good in their foods; it's not that good."

"And you would know this how?" Amu stomped her foot, angry that she had been pulled away from the food that she had so desperately wanted.

He chuckled before giving his smirk that caused Amu to feel the prickles of annoyance rise up.

"Just because I do and since I'm your bodyguard, you ought to listen to me, right?" His raised eye-brow wanted to make her be defiant and turn around right then, but she knew that would be the stupidest mistake… mainly because Ikuto held all the money that she needed.

Quietly, she followed after Ikuto in defiant silence. Finally, the smell of similar noodles wafted through the air and then, overwhelmingly drawn by the smell, she walked toward it. When Ikuto didn't stop her, she walked into the noodle shop.

Surprisingly, inside the noodle shop was very bustling with people and there were very many excited customers. Despite the cramped quarters, many people somehow managed to squeeze in and enjoy their noodles… that smelled so good to Amu, she was almost drooling. The tables and chairs were made of some durable wood, but it looked as if it had seen some or actually, a lot of abuse but it still somehow maintained good condition. It was of light wood that matched the white walls that showed many sings of black scuff marks. Higher up on the walls were all kinds of signs that said the prices for all kinds of noodles.

Before she could look at everything some more, Ikuto pulled her to an open bar area and she noticed that they were the furthest away from the door but probably in the most secluded area. A guy that was roughly her age came up to her with a huge grin and said, "What's the order for today?"

Ikuto looked at Amu and asked, "Do you like spicy or no?"

Amu quickly shook her head as Ikuto turned back to the male as he said, "Two originals."

Amu turned to the waiter and noticed with surprise that he had sparkling green eyes that seemed to glimmer with mischief… but it wasn't the kind that Ikuto had. His grin was crooked and his spiked up brown hair gave her the impression that he was one who played the local sports around the area.

"Got it," he replied as he took out two tea cups and poured them with what appears to be cool water. "Nii-san! Two originals!"

The man that the younger had shouted to turned to him and nodded before quickly beginning to pour it into bowls. She noticed just then that two other males were working around the tables. Then, just as quickly as the boy appeared, he disappeared for a moment before reappearing with two bowls of steaming hot noodles that smelled so deliciously, she had to consciously be aware not to drool.

"Here's your original noodles," he said as he set down the bowls. "Careful; they're hot," he warned.

Ikuto handed Amu chopsticks and Amu quickly took them apart before she dug in. Careful of the hot noodles, she slurped up every single drop until she was completely satisfied. Of course, she had drunken all of her water with refills.

"Yum!" she exclaimed, wiping her mouth clean. She was amazed at herself for not making a mess of herself on her kimono and she found herself surprised when she saw Ikuto looking at her, chuckling with amusement. Annoyed; "What?" she snapped.

"You eat so funny when you're almost starving," he said.

Before she could retort, Ikuto got up, as if almost alarmed and said to Amu in a soft voice, "Stay here." He quickly gave the money for the noodles to Amu before leaving the noodle shop. Confused, she couldn't call out to him.

"You're a new face in here."

Startled, she turned to face the young waiter who sat down next to her. Apparently, in the midst of her eating, most of the customers had left. It seems that the lunch rush hour had finished. "What?"

"You're new; I've never seen you before," he said, turning his head slightly. "And you're my age… don't you go to my school?"

"Ah, no…" Amu realized where this was going. Being as it was her first time out of her home in such a long while, she didn't want to throw him off and feel in anyway lower than whom she was.

"Ah, you're Amu-sama, aren't you?" he said, as if he had just realized it.

Unable to answer, he continued, "You are! No one here as the same pink hair as you do." He grinned. "I'm Kukai of the Souma family. We run several noodle shops. For now, my older brothers are just helping out for today since this shop is the original."

He stuck out his hand, different from what she was expecting. When she shook it, she was surprised at the vigor he had in it. "It's a pleasure to finally meet the hime of our district! I didn't think I was… I mean… I saw our Lord and all…"

"Um… it's a pleasure to meet you; I'll definitely have to come back," Amu smiled, surprised and relieved at the relaxed atmosphere that Kukai gave off that made her feel less worried.

"Of course," he grinned wider. "And next time, you won't have to pay because you're now my friend got it?" He slapped her heartily on the back, surprising her as she began coughing. "Speaking of pay, you'd have to pay this time though since I didn't know…"

"Understandable." She handed him the money that Ikuto had handed to her earlier.

"Was that your bodyguard earlier, by the way? The guy who left?"

Amu nodded and suddenly felt uneasy. Where had he gone?

"Well, you ought to come back Amu-chan; it's been a real pleasure meeting you!" he said just as Ikuto walked back in.

The expression in his eyes made her realize that her time here was now limited. "I gotta go, thanks for the noodles and I'll come back soon," she said as she got up and walked toward Ikuto.

When they got outside, she felt extremely nervous then. It was worse out here than it was inside the noodle shop.

"The noodle shop owners here know how to handle ruffians, so if you ever need to find somewhere to escape and you're near here, you can run to here," Ikuto quickly whispered into her ear. She recognized this street and noticed that it wasn't too far from home… well, the side-gate. She'll have to remember this.

His arm protectively covered Amu and they began to walk quickly away from her home. Frightened, she pulled herself away from Ikuto's hold and before Ikuto could pull her back, he disappeared into the huge crowd that had suddenly formed around her. Realizing that what she had just done was the stupidest mistake she's ever done in her life, she felt sick. To be separated from the only man who could protect her, she was left alone in a huge crowd of people. The urge to call out Ikuto's name was unbearable, but she decided to run… to run away from the crowd. The uneasiness did not leave her as she ran and ran until she could no longer run.

She fell and then grasped that she was not in an area she knew. It was so strange and alien, that she didn't know what to do.

"Ikuto!" she finally managed to shout out. She looked around for him, looking for anything that might be recognizable as a person she knew. She stood up and tried calling out his name louder. Not knowing what it might do, she called out another name that might help, "Tadase-sama!"

Something came from behind her and she turned around to find that males were approaching her. They stank of alcohol and mildly wondered why they drank so early in the day. She began to step backwards, horribly terrified. She stepped back until her back hit the wall and felt powerless as to what was coming next. It dawned on her that the place she had ran to was dark and dank and in between and behind several buildings.

"Hey, look… it's a girlie," one man said in a slurred voice. But just listening to his voice, she shivered in fear because she knew what he wanted.

"She looks mighty delicious," another said. One flicked out a knife and the other started laughing. The others were saying something in such a slurred voice, she couldn't comprehend.

They came close enough that she could smell their strong smells of wine and alcohol that she coughed. "Aw… you're choking her," their third friend said. "Let's see what you look like underneath that, hm?"

He began slicing away are her kimono that she couldn't even scream. They ripped away at her kimono until she herself heard painful grunts as bodies hit the floor. She opened her eyes, noticing that she had closed her eyes.

"Y-You know… it would have helped if you had screamed," he panted.

"IKUTO!" Amu exclaimed of relief. But she watched in horror as the males who were attacking her withdrew their blades that shined menacingly in the angle of the light.

She watched as he withdrew one blade. He chuckled, "One is enough to handle these idiots."

"Are you mocking us?" they shouted in fury. _It appears that, these are easy to get infuriate when drunk_, Amu thought mildly.

He smirked, "Of course."

They lunged and Ikuto blocked with swiftness, that she did not see the blade when it moved. She cried out when the blades collided with his. He pushed them away with the force of his katana and whispered to Amu under his breath, "When I say run, _run_."

"Yes…" she answered meekly. Ikuto then moved forward to push the men back with the force of his parry as each of them tried to attack him. Each of Ikuto's thrusts after that met skin, drawing blood… more and more until they started to become desperate.

He parried them off and then shouted at Amu, "RUN!"

She ran as her life depended on it and then moments later, she heard his footsteps behind her. He scooped her up into his arms and then carried her down the street, into the alleys and around corners to evade and lose their pursuers. When they finally lost them, Ikuto set her down.

She held her clothes together and felt the heavy breathe of Ikuto on her neck. She turned to face and realized that he was pale. She looked down and saw blood was bleeding through his kimono. When had he been stabbed there? Was it when he was defending her? How? Surely they hadn't gone past Ikuto's sword?

"You look so pitiful in that state," he managed to say.

"H-How could you say such a thing when you're in such a state!" she exclaimed with alarm as he began to rest heavily on her. She couldn't take it and leaned him against the wall. "Ikuto… You're hurt…"

"T-This is nothing…" he huffed. He was sweating an awful lot.

"S-Someone help!" she shouted. "Please! Anyone!"

She was crying, trying to keep Ikuto conscious. "D-Don't worry, Amu; I won't die… not yet."

"What's going on?" she heard a young girl's exclamation and turned to find a girl with orange hair with ribbons in it came running toward her.

"He-He's hurt…" Amu cried.

"Hold on, I'll be right back." She took off and ran into the nearest building, where a male with green hair and glasses came running out. He carried himself similarly to Ikuto.

"I'll carry him inside, and you, help her," he said toward the girl.

When they got inside, the girl had run off to get spare clothes and Amu sat beside Ikuto as the male worked on Ikuto. It was all her fault that it became like this… because she had been stupid to let go of Ikuto.

"It's fine, it's not serious," the male said as he worked, cleaning up his wounds and then finally managing to wrap bandages around his torso. She'd only seen blood, but no wounds. How big was the wound? Where was it located?

The girl returned with spare clothes and managed to coax her from the room for a bath. She felt so dirty that she happily obliged for the bath.

* * *

When Amu finished, she had found that she had fallen asleep while waiting for Ikuto to awaken from his sleep. She looked around and noticed she was alone. She never got the names of the two people that had helped her. She knelt over at Ikuto's side and brushed his hair aside from his face.

"I'm sorry…" she whispered."It was my fault."

"It's fine… I'm not gonna die, all right?" he murmured as Amu looked up to find his hand stroking her cheek. "So stop crying. Crying doesn't suit you." His thumb brushed away any tears that she was shedding. He pushed himself up to sitting, grunting a little.

"D-Don't get up!" Amu tried to push him down, scared that his wounds will reopen.

"Don't worry so much," he said as he sat up. She realized he was bare in the chest, covered only in bandages. It seemed that he had more injuries that she had seen earlier. This time, both of his hands held her face. "I'm fine, aren't I? Don't worry… after all, I've promised to protect you, haven't I?"

Amu could only nod, relieved that Ikuto was all right after all. Before she could say anything more, knocks were heard on the door and she pulled herself away from Ikuto.

"Come in," Ikuto said in a clear voice. He pulled on what appears to be a clean kimono top as the female with orange hair and ribbons and the male with green hair came in.

"We'd thought we'd introduce ourselves," the green-black haired male said. Amu recognized his hairstyle as the kind of ronin in training. The girl was of similar style but more like she was dressed in the sense of formality of… an inn keeper? But she couldn't recognize exactly which inn…

"I'm Kairi of the Sanjo Clan," the green-black haired male introduced. "I'm working in an apprenticeship as a guard for the Hinamori Clan."

"And I'm Yaya of the Yuiki Family and my family runs the Guardian Inn," she introduced. _Ah! That was it! The Guardian Inn! That was where all of Father's important friends stay at when we have no more room in our home_, Amu thought.

"Then this ought to surprise you," Amu began. "I'm Amu of the Hina-"

"We already know," Kairi interrupted.

Confused, she looked at Ikuto before looking back at them. "Your father has already gone through here on his weekly checks and I realized that you, again, were not with your family. I was under the impression that you were going to go out at a different time with your bodyguard, am I correct?"

Ikuto placed his hand on the hilt of one of his blades. "Ikuto…" Amu was uncertain.

But what surprised the pair was when Yaya smacked Kairi upside his head, causing them to flinch as Kairi fell forward in surprise. "Wh-What did you do that for?" Kairi exclaimed in alarm.

"Because you were being stupid," Yaya huffed. "I already know of your history with your sister and all, but you can't do that again when you're making friends; even if it had originally involved Amu-chi."

Unable to say anything, Yaya continued, "Excuse him for his behavior, he's been… on the edge lately with the bandit attacks and all." Amu couldn't help but see that Yaya was perhaps a bit baby-like and child-like in behavior.

"Ah," Kairi fixed his glasses. "I've already sent word to your father that you'll be staying at the inn for the night, and that's where you are now so you ought to be able to get enough rest tonight."

"Dinner will be served in a little bit," Yaya explained before getting up. "It was great meeting you, Amu-chi." Yaya grinned as Kairi got up as well.

"A pleasure as well," Kairi said almost in a formal-like manner before leaving. However, he popped his head back as he looked over at Ikuto, "And your name is…? We seemed to have missed it."

"Just call me Ikuto," he replied. Kairi and Yaya looked at each other before shrugging and closing the door shut.

"AH!"

Amu had been pulled into Ikuto's arms and against his chest. His hand touched on area of her abdomen while the other curled around her waist. She shuddered when his lips brushed against her ear and her neck. "Amu…" he murmured in such a voice, it sent lovely shivers down her spine. Then he just embraced her. He inhaled her scent, moving her long hair out of the way. She felt like Ikuto was almost purring.

"Ikuto…?"

"Hmm?" he replied.

"What's wrong?" she asked as alarm ripped through her once relaxed body that had melted in Ikuto's arms.

"I think something much worse is going to start happening soon." It wasn't a question, but a statement. "I might not be able to see you for awhile."

She turned around sharply to look at him. "You're lying!"

He smiled ruefully before he began to spoke up again. "I'm not, Amu… Something much worse is going to happen to this area and your friends and yourself might have to team up to help fend it off."

"What's going on?"

His finger stroked her face. "It's not that easy to explain… Perhaps it would be better if you heard it from your Tadase."

Sharp pain ricocheted through her chest. "But I want to hear it from you…"

"Perhaps, but… I cannot." His lips brushed over to her neck, his other hand holding the back of her neck. "But for now, let me just _be_ with you." His other arm pulled her close to him. Instantly, Amu remembered that other night, when he looked so lonely that she wanted to hold him so close so that he wouldn't… _disappear._

She held him close, as if something made her realize that what Ikuto was saying was true; that she might not see him again for a long while. But perhaps he was just lying…

She felt his lips move and she wondered what he said. "Ikuto?"

He moved himself away to look at her. "Amu, what are your feelings for me?"

"EH?"

* * *

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